Why was the Partridge in the Pear Tree? by Mark Lawson-Jones Page A
Authors: Mark Lawson-Jones
Ads: Link
mercy.
Perhaps Neale was drawn to the legend of Wenceslas because they shared the tragic loss of their fathers at an early age? Perhaps he saw the ‘King’ as someone who would uphold the faith in the face of trouble and conflict, as Neale felt he was doing? Whatever the reason, Neale has succeeded in his purpose, to this day people still sing of Good King Wenceslas, the unlikely hero of the poor and needy.
13
In the Bleak Midwinter
In the bleak midwinter
Frosty wind made moan,
Earth stood hard as iron,
Water like a stone;
Snow had fallen, snow on snow,
Snow on snow,
In the bleak midwinter,
Long ago.
Our God, heaven cannot hold him,
Nor earth sustain;
Heaven and earth shall flee away
When he comes to reign;
In the bleak midwinter
A stable place sufficed
The Lord God incarnate,
Jesus Christ.
Enough for him, whom Cherubim
Worship night and day
A breast full of milk
And a manger full of hay.
Enough for him, whom angels
Fall down before,
The ox and ass and camel
Which adore.
Angels and archangels
May have gathered there,
Cherubim and seraphim
Thronged the air;
But his mother only,
In her maiden bliss,
Worshipped the Beloved
With a kiss.
What can I give him,
Poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd
I would bring a lamb,
If I were a wise man
I would do my part,
Yet what I can I give Him
Give my heart.
Christina Georgina Rossetti was one of the most important women poets writing in the nineteenth century. Born in London on 5 December 1830 to Gabriele and Frances Polidori Rossetti, she was the fourth of five children. Her father was an Italian patriot, exiled from Naples for his political activity, and a Dante scholar who became professor of Italian at King’s College, London, in 1831. At home, Christina would have been fluent in both English and Italian. As part of the large Italian expatriate community in London, they welcomed other exiles, from Mazzini, the famous politician in exile, to chimney sweeps; and although they were certainly not wealthy, Professor Rossetti was able to support the family comfortably.
Christina Rossetti sketched by her brother Dante.
Christina Rossetti’s family were well-known poets, artists and critics, and as a child she would have been surrounded by people who were passionate about art, politics and religion. Although she spent most of her childhood in a dark and depressing early Victorian London, she was exposed to nature and the countryside on frequent visits to her grandfather. These themes recur throughout her poetry. Rossetti was healthy as a child, but was often ill during adolescence. She was diagnosed with ‘a kind of religious mania’ which might well have been psychosomatic.
Sketches made of her by her brother Dante, who himself became a famous artist, suggest that she was quite beautiful. At eighteen years old she became engaged to James Collinson, a young painter and member of the Pre-Raphaelite brethren, but the engagement ended after he reverted to Roman Catholicism in 1850. She, and the other Rossetti women, were initially devout evangelical Anglicans, who were eventually drawn to the traditional call of the Tractarians. They did, however, keep their evangelical seriousness. Maria, one of her sisters, became a nun, and Christina’s own religious poetry shows a deep commitment to her faith.
Rossetti continued her association with the Pre-Raphaelite movement. She herself was considered to have achieved the first success of the Pre-Raphaelite writers with the publication of Goblin Market and Other Poems in 1862. Rossetti often found herself caught between the worldly and the heavenly and this schism was central to her life and her poetry.
Her brother was able to convince Alexander Macmillan to publish three of Christina’s poems in Macmillian’s Magazine . One of the poems ‘Uphill’ was the first to receive attention and remains one of her finest works. This poem is an allegory about salvation, with the end being represented as
Perhaps Neale was drawn to the legend of Wenceslas because they shared the tragic loss of their fathers at an early age? Perhaps he saw the ‘King’ as someone who would uphold the faith in the face of trouble and conflict, as Neale felt he was doing? Whatever the reason, Neale has succeeded in his purpose, to this day people still sing of Good King Wenceslas, the unlikely hero of the poor and needy.
13
In the Bleak Midwinter
In the bleak midwinter
Frosty wind made moan,
Earth stood hard as iron,
Water like a stone;
Snow had fallen, snow on snow,
Snow on snow,
In the bleak midwinter,
Long ago.
Our God, heaven cannot hold him,
Nor earth sustain;
Heaven and earth shall flee away
When he comes to reign;
In the bleak midwinter
A stable place sufficed
The Lord God incarnate,
Jesus Christ.
Enough for him, whom Cherubim
Worship night and day
A breast full of milk
And a manger full of hay.
Enough for him, whom angels
Fall down before,
The ox and ass and camel
Which adore.
Angels and archangels
May have gathered there,
Cherubim and seraphim
Thronged the air;
But his mother only,
In her maiden bliss,
Worshipped the Beloved
With a kiss.
What can I give him,
Poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd
I would bring a lamb,
If I were a wise man
I would do my part,
Yet what I can I give Him
Give my heart.
Christina Georgina Rossetti was one of the most important women poets writing in the nineteenth century. Born in London on 5 December 1830 to Gabriele and Frances Polidori Rossetti, she was the fourth of five children. Her father was an Italian patriot, exiled from Naples for his political activity, and a Dante scholar who became professor of Italian at King’s College, London, in 1831. At home, Christina would have been fluent in both English and Italian. As part of the large Italian expatriate community in London, they welcomed other exiles, from Mazzini, the famous politician in exile, to chimney sweeps; and although they were certainly not wealthy, Professor Rossetti was able to support the family comfortably.
Christina Rossetti sketched by her brother Dante.
Christina Rossetti’s family were well-known poets, artists and critics, and as a child she would have been surrounded by people who were passionate about art, politics and religion. Although she spent most of her childhood in a dark and depressing early Victorian London, she was exposed to nature and the countryside on frequent visits to her grandfather. These themes recur throughout her poetry. Rossetti was healthy as a child, but was often ill during adolescence. She was diagnosed with ‘a kind of religious mania’ which might well have been psychosomatic.
Sketches made of her by her brother Dante, who himself became a famous artist, suggest that she was quite beautiful. At eighteen years old she became engaged to James Collinson, a young painter and member of the Pre-Raphaelite brethren, but the engagement ended after he reverted to Roman Catholicism in 1850. She, and the other Rossetti women, were initially devout evangelical Anglicans, who were eventually drawn to the traditional call of the Tractarians. They did, however, keep their evangelical seriousness. Maria, one of her sisters, became a nun, and Christina’s own religious poetry shows a deep commitment to her faith.
Rossetti continued her association with the Pre-Raphaelite movement. She herself was considered to have achieved the first success of the Pre-Raphaelite writers with the publication of Goblin Market and Other Poems in 1862. Rossetti often found herself caught between the worldly and the heavenly and this schism was central to her life and her poetry.
Her brother was able to convince Alexander Macmillan to publish three of Christina’s poems in Macmillian’s Magazine . One of the poems ‘Uphill’ was the first to receive attention and remains one of her finest works. This poem is an allegory about salvation, with the end being represented as
Similar Books
